Enabling children and young people to respond to God

Transcription

1 News and resources for Workers and groups Autumn 2009 Enabling children and young people to respond to God This year is set to be very exciting for all of us associated with the Methodist Church who are involved in working with children and young people. Decisions taken by the Methodist Conferences of 2007 and 2008 to combine MethodistChildren and MAYC into a single team, the Methodist team, were bold and forward-looking. These decisions enable us to build on the strengths of previous work, as well as introduce new approaches in the ways that we work, the support that we offer and the development of programmes, events and resources. Three staff members have the direct responsibility for this work: Mike Seaton Director Penny Fuller Meg Prowting Youth Participation Strategy An integral element of Children and Youth s work is the Youth Participation a Strategy (YPS). This strategy emerged from extensive research into the participation process operated by the Methodist Church from It is pioneering, exciting and has the potential to transform the mission and ministry of the Church. Jude Levermore, who is the Participation, has responsibility for the implementation of the strategy. One further exciting development that complements this work, is children s participation. This is a new area of work which recognises that while participation does not begin at age 13, it needs to be in our thinking and practice from the moment a child enters our church communities. Emma Paton has been appointed to research current practice and adapt it for the Methodist Church. This involves pilot programmes at Connexional, district, circuit and church levels. continued on next page. Inside 3-4 Youth Participation 4 Gun and Knife Crime 5 The One Programme 6 Events

2 continued from previous page. What will the team be focusing on? Churches are not child-centred; they often preclude children and young people from being equal participants. Like many of the UK denominations, the Methodist Church is struggling to connect with children and young people. Many young people choose not to associate with church, feeling that it is detached from their lives, the society and communities they are part of. Every young person has much to offer, yet the Church is not empowering children and young people to be full agents of faith, to be transformed as individuals or equipped to minister within their churches and communities. Over the past six months, staff have been involved in developing a 5-year strategic development plan for the work. The central aim of this work is to enable children and young people to respond to God and become lifelong disciples living out the gospel. The work will focus on eight areas: Valuing and respecting children and young people to enable children and young people to respond to God and become lifelong disciples living out the gospel Enabling children and young people to be taught and challenged about the Christian faith appropriately Empowering children and young people to participate in the mission and ministry of the Church Influencing and engaging with policy and issues affecting children and young people Creating and equipping worshipping communities Raising awareness and responding to the cultural context of children and young people, recognising the contributions and challenges it offers to mission and ministry Facilitating theological reflection to inform our practice of working with children and young people Copies of the full development plan will be posted on the Methodist Church website. The Methodist Church has the opportunity to provide dynamic, pioneering ministry with children and young people relevant for twenty first century Britain. Bringing these plans to fruition will require cooperation, resources, and risk being prepared to step out of traditional ways of working and venture into new territory. Work with children and young people is not the sole responsibility of a group of designated specialist workers but involves everyone within our church communities. It requires us to look at every aspect of our being and ask questions; Does this help children and young people? Are they able to participate? At what level? Can they contribute in a way that is appropriate for them?. The next five years will be exciting and demanding. Please join us as we work together to ensure that children and young people are active disciples within our communities. Recognising and resourcing the ministry of those working with children and young people. Mike Seaton Director of Team

3 Youth Participation it s What is Youth Participation? And why is it about everyone? Youth participation means involving young people in responsible, challenging action meeting their genuine needs and providing them with opportunities to be involved in real planning and decision-making. It s one of the latest buzz words used by government agencies, researchers, educators and others to define and examine the active engagement of young people in many different arenas from schools, to local government and churches. The decision of Conference 2007 to set up the Youth Participation Strategy (YPS) was a brave one. It meant drawing a line under the good work of the MAYC and moving on to build something new. It is worth noting that the Methodist Church are the only mainstream church in the UK to be developing youth participation as an integral part of their mission and ministry. This is groundbreaking. It is groundbreaking because we are turning a buzz word into something that makes a real difference in people s lives. How will we get there? With the help of our OPPs! So, where have the Team got to so far with making this strategy into a reality? Well, one of the things we have initiated is our new youth placement scheme the One Programme in which we pay young people, our One Programme Participants, or OPPs, to engage with the local church in creative and constructive pieces of work. To achieve this, we are working with districts to identify projects into which a young person (an OPP) could be placed to work alongside qualified, experienced adults partnering together to build God s kingdom in their neighbourhood. What will this look like? These projects will be different in different districts. In Cumbria, for example, we are looking to place an OPP in a youth project in Seascale. In Sheffield, we are looking to place an OPP with the Community Outreach worker employed by Greenhill Methodist Church. In Wolverhampton we have very successfully piloted the scheme this year with an OPP who was given the specific brief of improving youth participation and mentoring by helping to put together a youth synod for the district. Over the coming months and all across the Connexion, OPPs will be getting involved. The Youth Participation Strategy is not a one-size-fits-all scheme; not a programme into which we will slot young people and magically turn out mini versions of our esteemed president, or younger versions of ourselves. Instead, it is about seeing the kingdom of God grow in the lives of our young people and, in growing their mission and in their ministry, we hope to see transformation in our districts. We are also recruiting Youth Participation Project managers, who will operate across the Connexion, and can advocate and agitate for participation everywhere. These peripatetic experts in participation will work under the guidance of the Youth Participation to serve the districts. So far we have recruited three Youth Participation Project managers; one for the south-east, one for the north-east and one for the south-west; and all will start on 1 November. We are also developing the Youth Conference, morphing it into a Youth Assembly and designing it to be more collaborative, drawing on the skills of young people to make it more inclusive. Why all this now? Recent figures out show us that our society has a problem. One in ten of our young people have no job and, not only that, these same young people are not on any training scheme or in any form of education. They are labelled NEET s (not in education, employment or training) and there are very nearly a million in Britain today young people on the rubbish heap. We also have the highest

4 about everyone Gun and Knife Crime Does youth violence affect you? rates for teenage pregnancy, teenage abortion and the lowest figures for selfesteem in Western Europe. Our young people need us and we need them. It really is about everyone For too long we have been separated from our young people, setting them apart in junior church and youth groups in our churches; setting them apart in our towns, where they hang about in gangs that make them feel safe and us feel threatened. We have forgotten how to listen to and interact with our young people; we have forgotten that renewal movements are movements of the young; we have forgotten how to like, let alone love, our young people and we have forgotten what it means to be the body of Christ everyone, together. That is what the YPS means. It s about everyone being the Body of Christ together. What will it mean? We believe that participation has two parts. First, it means being part of something. We want young people to be part of the body of Christ on earth, the Church. Second, it means being able to influence, mould, help make the thing you are a part of. And that means young people being able to help make, mould, and influence the body of Christ. Participation is God-shaped Participation is an approach. It is essentially about human interaction, about how we think about each other, talk about each other and relate to each other. It is an ideology that values all humans as equal and valuable. But it is not just ideology. It is theological, too. It is how Jesus interacted with people. It is why he had disciples; why he chose to speak with people rather than just to them; it is how God the Father treats us, His creation, allowing us to be cocreators with him; and it is how the Holy Spirit works, as the Paraclete, the one who comes alongside. Participation is a pattern given to us by God. How you can be involved We urge you to pray for the YPS, our OPPs, our Youth Participation Project managers and for the young people of our country. There is incredible potential to not only build disciples, but to also make a meaningful difference to the lives of our young people and the life of our land. Getting young people to believe that they can change things in their lives; that they can take action that they can have the confidence to speak out their opinions in public will often take many months or even years of intensive work. But the staff and particularly the participation workers are confident that, together, we can make this happen. Because it s about everyone. We are also developing resources for anyone who catches a vision of the need for this approach and wants to help us realise it. For more information or to get involved please contact Jude Levermore, Participation Development Officer. Gun and knife crime is affecting our young people and therefore it is an issue that as a Church we are concerned about. In January 2010 we will be launching a project led by young people which will enable the Church to reflect upon the issues and respond. The project will culminate in a website and exhibition containing stories from people of all ages who have been affected by violent crime. We are looking for young people to be involved in this project; to find out about the issues, gather the stories and develop the website. We are also looking for people to tell their stories about how youth violence has affected them, their faith, their families and their church. If you are interested in being involved or want to find out more about the project then please contact Meg Prowting at prowtingm@methodistchurch.org.uk or

5 The One Programme The rationale behind the (re)naming of the scheme Why call it ONE? ONE is individual and unique The One Programme is about one person, it s individual, and each young person who participates will experience a programme that is tailored to them and their development. The programme says that everyone can make a difference. ONE is about time I have a dream that one day said Martin Luther King. It is about one year one year to make a difference. On is an element of the word one and the One Programme is about taking a year on, opting in rather than opting out. There is a future sense in one a yearning sense of praying, hoping and working towards a better tomorrow. One day carries a note of longing, looking forward to a day when things will be better. ONE is about place The One Programme sees participants rooted and embedded in one place, right where they live. Not moving about means they are grounded in one context, enabling a deeper experience for them and those they work with. The programme acknowledges that every location and circumstance is unique and requires an individual approach and commitment. ONE is theologically committed Though we are many, we are one. One body, one Church. We worship one God, One God, perfect in unity. One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in all. Ephesians 4:6 The acronym OPPs The One Programme will have participants. They will be called One Programme Participants, OPPs. Like it or loathe it, all schemes like this get their titles shortened and are then embedded into a culture in initial form. This is an important consideration. This acronym works on all sorts of levels. Opportunity Giving someone a chance, something they might not get to do otherwise, a chance to try. It speaks of opportunity and operations, both active words. It says something of the ethos of the programme: of young people getting involved, participating, making a change in their locality. Opportunity is a hopeful word. Operations These are both practical and exciting. Think about special operations and undercover resonances, and forgive the military analogy for a moment: Special Ops are typically carried out with limited numbers of highly trained personnel that are able to operate in all environments, utilise self-reliance, are able to easily adapt and overcome obstacles, and use unconventional combat skills and equipment to complete objectives. Special operations are usually implemented through specific or tailored intelligence. Wikipedia In summary OPPs are Unique individuals Giving one year of their time Committed to one place or project Part of a bigger whole, God s unity and God s family The One Programme and its OPPs work all ways round. Full circle. 5

6 Breakout July Cliff College Planning is well underway for Breakout, the connexional Methodist youth event. Breakout will take place 9-11 July 2010 at Cliff College, Derbyshire and the theme is Connect we hope that this event will enable young people to connect with each other, with God and with the world they are a part of. Breakout involves a range of activities; worship, sport, workshops, campaigning, music and much more besides. There will also be a programme specifically for youth workers who come with their groups. And for the first time, Breakout will host its own Media Hub showing events happening at the weekend over the internet on Breakout TV! Breakout is for groups of young people aged 11 years and upwards. Please encourage and enable the young people in your churches and circuits to attend this event. For more information visit the Breakout website or contact Meg Prowting on prowtingm@methodistchurch.org.uk or November 2009 There s an exciting new event happening on the November in Durham! Methodist Youth Assembly is the new initiative to come out of the Youth Participation Strategy and will replace youth conference. It s all about giving young people the space to shout about the issues that bother them, and doing something about it. We have been working with a specialist participation team to develop this event and it s going to be amazing! Do you have young people that are; aged between years bothered by stuff they see and want to do something about it ready to change the Methodist Church from the inside out? Then send them to Youth Assembly! Please note that you will need to send two official reps from each district, and then as many more young people who want to come, are welcome! To find out more, youthassembly@methodistchurch.org.uk and you can download a booking form from the section at Children & Youth Staff Mike Seaton Director of Children and Youth seatonm@methodistchurch.org.uk Meg Prowting prowtingm@methodistchurch.org.uk Penny Fuller fuller@methodistchurch.org.uk Jude Levermore Youth Participation levermorej@methodistchurch.org.uk Emma Paton Children s Participation Worker patone@methodistchurch.org.uk Further Information Please contact Methodist, Methodist Church House, 25 Marylebone Road, London NW1 5JR Tel: Fax: children@methodistchurch.org.uk This insert is free, this is part of Methodist Connexions, the Connexional Link pack provided for the Methodist Church in Britain. Methodist Churches and others in linked ecumenical projects may freely copy this resource for their own use. Trustees for Methodist Church Purposes Who has been sent copies direct? Ministers and Deacons in pastoral charge Who else in your church might find this useful? Other youth workers... Junior Church Leader... Circuit Youth &... Community Secretary Please write their names and get them to tick the box when they have seen or received a copy. Published by Methodist Publishing, 17 Tresham Road, Peterborough PE2 6SG Tel: Fax: resources@methodistchurch.org.uk DL513-CY-09